29th Sunday

Remain faithful and be persistent in your Faith, St Paul encourages us, he then adds the rub -  do this wither convenient or inconvenient. Proclaim the Word of God by yours words and your deeds as if your life depended on it, and of course, it does!

 The key words here are remain and persistent. To remain is focused on the here and now. To remain is to stay put, solid and settled in. Persistence is always directed towards the future and it always hopes for a good outcome. But, like remaining in faith, persistence is also a present action, a doing in the here and now, whatever it takes to achieve what is hoped for.

 Remaining in faith and being persistent compels us here and now to live good lives that are prudent and simple, level and smooth. It can convince those around us that there are better choices to be made, better ways to be in the world.

Being steadfast and tireless in Faith, though aimed at the coming Parousia, (the second coming) can enliven and strengthen today our care and concern for all creation most especially our brothers and sisters, known and unknown.  Remaining in faith and being persistent hopes for the coming kingdom, but it is already making the Kingdom present.

 St Paul often calls this consistency of faith, running the race until the end. He doesn’t say win the race. He simply says run with resolve and determination. It doesn’t matter one bit how fast we are. It doesn’t matter if we are first or last. The Kingdom always welcomes the late arrivals.

God says, the first will take care of themselves. I will walk with the last. The parable about the last hired, who worked the least amount of hours and received the same pay as the first hired points to God’s view on it.

 To remain in faith and to be persistent means doing the work of faith. And not some unknown work that we must somehow discover or work we wish would show up at a more appropriate time. It does not have to be high profile or important. The work is right in front of us. It is at our doorstep. Our hearts already know what we must do.

 And we must be constant and determined in doing the good work and it must be done in humility and kindness and not for some future reward (though that is hoped for and certainly would be nice), but because the Lord asks us; to forgive hurt, heal the broken hearted, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, protect the widow and orphan. Jesus shows us we must value and respect the nothings and nobodies. And there are plenty of those good people around.

 “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being”.  Now, right off the bat we know the judge is a servant of power and not the Kingdom for he loves neither God (so lacks wisdom) nor neighbor (showing lack of humility and hospitality). Yes, he loves the law, but as a rigid absolute and not as a vehicle for justice.

 A widow comes to court. And as many of the underclass were thought to be, she is a nobody and she has come to see a somebody. The powerless has come before the powerful.

And what is more, this nobody expects a just decision. But, the cards are stacked against her. She has no patron, cannot afford a good lawyer or a sizable gift. 

 We should remember that the Torah (who we assume the judge has read) clearly states - You shall not prevent the justice due the alien, the orphan or the widow.

But, disordered power makes one forget these things. It tends to blinds clear vision and makes deaf ears that once heard the cry for justice. Power protects power.

 Still the widow, bless her heart, persists. Day by day she lays out her case and in time the judge gives in. We hope he gave in because her claim was just, but human nature tells it was her persistence that simply wore him down.

And now Jesus tells the disciples -  look, if hard hearted judge judges in favor of a nobody, because of her persistence, how much more will God secure what is right and just for those who call out to him day and night.

 Persistence pays off, but God is not hiding. God is with us. He invites us to run the race and he runs it with us, each of us. And all he asks of us is to try, determined and constant in doing the work of faith. Be tireless in prayer for he hears them. But, remember that we must sometimes stop talking to God so we can listen to him. Strive for the Kingdom to come and you will live it out today.

 There is a question at the end of today’s Gospel passage “What will the Son of Man find when he returns”?   At first glance the question appears to be addressed to everybody at large, but this is too easy. The question, it seems to me, is asked directly each of us. How will the Son of Man find you?  Be steadfast in Faith and be persistent. The rest is up to God.